DAVID SYLVIAN BIOGRAPHY - ON THE PERIPHERY Only available for worldwide dispatch from WWW.SYLVIANBIOGRAPHY.COM SYLVIAN & BECKETT. Even a passing interest in David Sylvians life and work reveals that he is like a sponge, absorbing influences and ideas from literature, art, music, and film. An avid reader, on numerous occasions literary references and influences are detectable in Sylvians music. Sometimes these are oblique, sometimes overt. Brilliant Trees was famous for its name dropping, acting as a window on the areas that Sylvian was focussed on in the early 1980s. This trend continued on Gone to Earth, where there was a very obvious nod, for example, in the direction of Milan Kundera. In time, the oblique and frequent name dropping faded from Sylvians work, and the narrative of his life and work became much more focussed on his personal relationships with his family, and his spiritual relationship with the Divine. But in the 2000s, heavy weight literary references came back into vivid relief in Sylvians work. These were not all new influences on him, but some were brought to the fore at this time, and in certain instances became almost the entire focus of some works. I am thinking here especially of Manafon, which had as its muse R.S. Thomas, a figure that was obviously used by Sylvian to reflect the theme of this album, creativity and disillusionment. Behind the obvious R.S. Thomas references on Manafon, some of the characterisation in the lyrics suggested the voice of other writers, while not directly referencing them. One such was Samuel Beckett, there being a very similar feel to the central character referenced in Sylvians song The Greatest Living Englishman and Becketts character — the failed writer Krapp — in Krapps Last Tape. This is something that Sylvian confirms in the new biography On the Periphery (sylvianbiography). “Yes, the album certainly has elements of Beckett for me. And, in a sense, looking at the life of R.S. Thomas, he became something like a character in a Beckett work. It has that irony and humour, and a lost sense of purpose if you will.” Sylvian’s flirtation with the works of Beckett was not new. Back in the Fire in the Forest tour of 2003/04, he performed a song that was never released entitled Wasn’t I Joe, which opened with the spoken words “I was strong myself when I started in on you wasn’t I Joe? Normal strength”, from Beckett’s television play “Eh Joe”. Many see Wasnt I Joe as one of Sylvians most compelling compositions from this period. In common with a few songs over his career, if performed live before recorded, Sylvian felt that the essence of the piece was such that it would be impossible to capture in a studio setting. So saying, the song was never released. Fortunately, this song does exist on video from concerts. An atmospheric, powerful, and momentum filled track. https://youtube/watch?v=Lth0Lv0Sgyo REVIEWS OF ON THE PERIPHERY “Just finished the book and I can honesty say I have never enjoyed a book so much, Great insight to the creative process of one of our finest artists.” (Victor Habbick via Facebook — February 2014) “Clearly written as a labour of love, “On the Periphery” is a dense, earnest and thoughtful work that’s strong on background details, with some illuminating notes on the various philosophies and spiritual disciplines that helped drive Sylvian’s creative process... It delivers on its stated aim, giving a well-rounded picture of the motivations and working practices of a complex, esoteric yet compelling artist and his transformation from pop idol to doyen of the avant-garde.” (Paul Bowler, THE RECORD COLLECTOR MAGAZINE — April 2014) “Chris Young took on a difficult assignment. The results of “On the Periphery” are insightful. A must for Sylvian fans.” (Tommy Bruno, Summit FM Ohio — January 2014) “Just finished the book last night. Thank you so much for making me appreciate Sylvians music even more. Your superb analysis has had me run back to the music and listen with fresh ears! I always thought I had a handle on Sylvians lyrics but youve opened new doors and pathways for me! Thank you so much Christopher!” (Raheel Khokhar via Facebook — February 2014) “Just finished reading this exceptional book. A truly in-depth look into Sylvians work which for me clarifys his thinking as he approached the Blemish years. A period of his that I have never been able to completely embrace. Now I have a better grasp of what he was trying to achieve and feel that Blemish and Manafon are much more approachable. Thanks for this book.” (Barrie Sillars via Facebook — January 2014) “Good book, great read, pure magic.” (Ian Barsby via Facebook — February 2014) “It has inspired me to return to his music and enjoy it though new perspectives. Well done on a great piece of work!” (Philip Boyle via Facebook — March 2014) “Chris Young dives headlong into the intense, deep and spriritual world of Sylvian.” (Ian Peel, CLASSIC POP MAGAZINE — March 2014) “I am savouring every page. Its opened avenues for further reading as well on all the influences. I have already looked at several areas I want to read about that come from your book. Best book I’ve read so far along side the Tibetan book of living and dying.” (Jonathan Jennings via Facebook — February 2014)
Posted on: Thu, 10 Apr 2014 17:01:19 +0000
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